


Do-Over

by amarielah



Series: Rodimus vs The Timeline [2]
Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Cybertronian Disaster Rodimus Prime, Enemies to Friends, Gen, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Not A Fix-It, Peggy Sue, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:01:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23875858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amarielah/pseuds/amarielah
Summary: A Rodimus from the distant finale ofLost Lightwoke up to find his consciousness inhabiting a version of himself from millennia in the past. Now he's determined to get the ball rolling on changing the future for the better.And the first step is convincing a still very evil Megatron to help him.
Relationships: Rodimus & Megatron, Rodimus & Soundwave, Rodimus & Starscream
Series: Rodimus vs The Timeline [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1398505
Comments: 13
Kudos: 59





	Do-Over

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is a direct sequel to "Served Warm", and briefly references some of Rodimus' questionable decisions in that fic. But it can probably be read on its own without much trouble. 
> 
> Timeline-wise, this takes place around _The Transformers (2009) #13_ and _Spotlight: Megatron_. So, fair warning: Megatron is easily at his worst here.

For a while, Rodimus follows the script. Partly because he just can’t think of anything else to do. He needs to get the Matrix and find Megatron; the Decepticons have both. Ultra Magnus’ ship is his only ride off of this rock.

He feels way worse about stealing it this time, though, and makes a mental note to properly apologize to Magnus later. He never really got around to it, last time, what with all the other slag that went down. Maybe this time around he can actually get Magnus to trust his judgment. Just a little.

He doesn’t really have a plan, but he’s been thinking long and hard about some things. About all the crazy stunts he’s pulled over the millenia, and how he even managed to survive any of them. 

About how Megatron only exists because of what went down on the Lost Light. 

The last time he’d shown up guns blazing at the Decepticon ‘base’, he’d been so sure that he was destined to return to the Autobots with the Matrix. And...he’d been right, but for the wrong reasons. The way he figures it now, he has to survive because otherwise Megatron couldn’t exist. He can still get hurt, but he can’t die. Not until _after_ he’s played his part in Megatron being made. 

So sure, he doesn’t have a plan. But he probably doesn’t need one. All he needs to know is that he can’t do what he did last time, because it wouldn’t leave the Decepticons feeling very hospitable.

He hails them while he’s still out of range of their weapons.

“Attention, Decepticons,” he says into the comm. “This is Rodimus, formerly known as Hot Rod, and I’m here to defect.” It’s not technically a lie. Just a little exaggeration of the truth. And he decides to sweeten the pot so they don’t shoot him down before he can land. “I come bearing gifts of weapons and energon.”

That’s the part that finally gets him a response. “You’re cleared for landing, Hot Rod.” Rodimus recognizes the voice as Acid Storm’s. “But try anything funny and we’ll shoot you on the spot.”

“Roger that,” says Rodimus cheerfully. He’s bought himself a few kliks to make his case. And if he’s right about destiny, then the worst that can happen is that he gets injured. 

All things considered, he can live with some pain.

The nanoklik Rodimus is out of the ship, they’re pointing blasters at him, with Razorclaw already glaring balefully at Rodimus in his beast alt-mode.

“Now I know what you’re thinking,” Rodimus says, holding up his hands to show he’s unarmed. “This has to be some kind of trick, right? But it’s not. If I wanted to attack you guys, I would’ve let you shoot me down, jettisoned myself, then sent the burning wreckage of the ship directly into your defenses, using the chaos and confusion to my advantage.”

Shrapnel makes a face. “Check inside the ship, Acid Storm.” He jerks his gun at Rodimus. “If you’re lying, I’ll blast you, then let Razorclaw slowly crush your brain module with his teeth.”

Rodimus just continues to smile as Acid Storm searches the ship. The seeker comes out a few kliks later, looking bemused. “He was telling the truth. There’s an open safe full of weapons, and a decent stash of energon.”

Shrapnel cocks his head to the side. “We don’t really need an extra tank to fuel, though. Should probably slag him anyway.”

Rodimus waves his hands. “I’m not planning to stick around. I just need to talk to Starscream, and I’ll be on my way.” He doesn’t _actually_ need to talk to Starscream, obviously, but he needs to stall until Megatron decides to make his dramatic entrance. 

“Why?” asks Shrapnel.

“A bunch of reasons,” Rodimus replies. “But, to start with: Judge Tyrest’s gone rogue and is planning to use a Kill Switch to murder every cold constructed bot in existence.” He shoots Acid Storm a pointed look. He doesn’t know about Razorclaw or Shrapnel, but Acid Storm definitely came off an assembly line.

“How did Tyrest accomplish this feat?” asks a new voice. Bombshell, Rodimus sees. Which means he’s totally about to be mind-controlled.

So, no harm in being honest. “I’m not completely clear on all the details, but it has to do with how the sparks for the cold constructs were made. Turns out they actually came from the Matrix.”

“Which would give them all similar properties, allowing them to be targeted by the same frequency,” Bombshell surmises. “Fascinating, if true.” 

“It _is_ true. Put one of those cerebro-thingies on me, if that’s what it takes to convince you.” He isn’t exactly keen on the idea, but he figures it’s inevitable at this point. 

Bombshell’s optics flash. “Hold him,” he tells the others. Razorclaw transforms into root mode and grabs one of Rodimus’ arms, while Acid Storm takes the other.

As Bombshell looms towards him, Rodimus reminds himself that everything will work out in the end. It has to.

* * *

Rodimus quickly learns that the cerebro-shells don’t completely override free will. They work on direct orders, so he can pretty much do what he likes so long as it doesn’t contradict those orders.

That gives him some leeway, at least.

Starscream is just as Rodimus remembers: visibly depressed, and wearing the Matrix around his neck as though it makes it less obvious. “Hot Rod,” he says flatly.

“Rodimus, actually,” says Rodimus. “I brought you guys some presents.”

“He came in a ship with a small cache of weapons and modest energon reserves,” says Shrapnel. 

“I think the ship belongs to Ultra Magnus,” says Acid Storm, sounding a little impressed. 

“He claims to have come here to prevent Judge Tyrest from creating a device that can destroy all cold constructed mechs,” says Bombshell. “His story was consistent, even under the influence of a cerebro-shell.”

Starscream stares for a few nanokliks. 

“I know other stuff, too,” says Rodimus, helpfully. “Like the fact that Megatron is going to be back any klik now.” 

Starscream sits bolt upright. “What?”

As if on cue — and, knowing Megatron, it may very well have been on cue — Megatron enters the throne room with Soundwave and Shockwave in tow.

“Hello, Starscream,” says Megatron.

“L-lord Megatron,” Starscream stammers. 

Megatron holds out a giant hand. Rodimus had forgotten just how huge he’d been in this form. “Hand over the bauble, and I will reconsider beating you within an inch of your life.”

Rodimus hadn’t been prepared for how much it would suck to see Megatron like this again. With that naked contempt on his face and that maniacal gleam in his optics. But he’s even less prepared for how _happy_ he is. 

If he can convince Megatron to help him, then anything is possible.

“What are you planning to do with the Matrix?” Rodimus asks.

Megatron looks at him with cold, calculating optics. “I’m going to throw it out into the vacuum of space.”

“I wouldn’t recommend that.”

“Oh?” says Megatron.

Rodimus shrugs. “It’s the only way to stop the Kill Switch that Tyrest is building.” He’s pretty sure that Soundwave had been eavesdropping on everything, which means Megatron is already up to speed. “There are other reasons as well, but you probably don’t want me to reveal them in front of such a big crowd.” He gestures at the cerebro-shell poking out of his skull. “On a related note, you probably want to have Bombshell remove this thing from my brain. Because he can use it to find out things about you that you really don’t want him to know.”

Megatron stares for just a nanoklik, then throws a questioning glance at Soundwave.

“He is telling the truth,” Soundwave says. 

Megatron frowns. “Remove the device, Bombshell.” To Starscream, he says: “Give me the Matrix.”

Rodimus can’t help but grin.

* * *

Later, Megatron dismisses everyone but Rodimus and Soundwave, taking his place on Starscream’s old throne. 

He glares at Rodimus, the Matrix now hanging ominously around his neck. “You have ten kliks to explain yourself, before I blast both you and the Matrix out into space.”

Rodimus doesn’t see the point in dilly-dallying. “I come from the future.”

That’s clearly not the answer that Megatron’s expecting, because his optic ridges shoot up.

“Actually, it’s more like I _remember_ the future.” He looks at Soundwave. “I’m telling the truth, right?”

“You _believe_ that you are telling the truth,” says Soundwave. 

“Okay, so maybe I’m crazy. Or maybe I’m not.” He points to Megatron’s chest. “Shockwave put space bridge nodes inside your new body, didn’t he.”

Megatron’s expression smooths out in a way that can only be deliberate.

“I bet he told you that it was to let you do that trick with the antimatter,” Rodimus says. A part of him still can’t believe that’s even a real thing. “But the actual reason is that he plans to use it to access the Dead Universe so he can destroy reality to make Cybertron eternal. Or something. I was never one hundred percent clear on the details, besides the fact that it would result in everything but Cybertron dying.” He grimaces. “Speaking of the Dead Universe: I’m pretty sure that Galvatron is conquering Cybertron as we speak. I know you’re planning to go to Earth right now to get revenge on Optimus, but you should save yourself the trouble and just go fight Galvatron. It’s what you’re going to end up doing, anyway.” Now he points to the Matrix. “After we stop him, we can use the Matrix to restore Vector Sigma, which will bring all of Cybertron back to life.”

“He is still telling the truth,” says Soundwave.

“Very well,” Megatron says. “You have my attention. Why are you telling this to me, and not your beloved Prime?”

That’s...a very good question. For a moment, Rodimus is left speechless. It hadn’t even occurred to him to tell Optimus. First the thing with Swindle, and now _this_. 

There really is something wrong with him.

At last, he says, “Because you’re the key to everything.” 

Megatron stares at him, unable to hide his surprise.

Rodimus chuckles. “Galvatron. Tyrest. Shockwave. They’re just the beginning. Slag’s about to get _crazy_. And yeah, Optimus will play a big part in all of it, but you’re the one who can make the real difference between the future we got and the future we deserve.”

“And what, precisely, is the future we _deserve_?” Megatron asks, and Rodimus can tell he’s in dangerous territory. This Megatron is too hopped up on Ore-13 and hatred to imagine a time when he could want the kind of future that Rodimus is hoping for.

But there are some things that even this rage-fueled monster cares about. “One where Ravage and Soundwave don’t die, and where Cybertron isn’t destroyed.” Rodimus almost mentions Terminus, but stops himself. He’ll keep that piece of ammunition in his subspace for now, until it’s been firmly established that he’s not off his rocker. 

Soundwave tenses ever-so-slightly, and Rodimus remembers why the telepath is here in the first place. Somebody had once told Rodimus that early copies of _Towards Peace_ had been dedicated to Terminus — copies that Soundwave had probably read.

Rodimus looks Soundwave directly in the visor and thinks: _We can talk later._

Soundwave gives him the barest hint of a nod.

“Congratulations, Hot Rod,” says Megatron. “You’ve convinced me to spare your life. For now.”

* * *

They apparently don’t have any holding facilities on the makeshift base, so Rodimus gets put into some random hab suite with Razorclaw as the guard. He’s glad he fueled properly back on Earth, because he doubts he’ll be getting much in the way of energon for a while.

He hears a commotion a few kliks after the door closes, and guesses that Megatron is probably going after Shockwave. 

About a cycle later, Soundwave comes to visit.

“Shockwave got away?” Rodimus asks, from his position lying on the recharge slab.

“Affirmative,” says Soundwave.

“That figures. I didn’t tell Megatron this earlier, because it sounds so crazy, but Shockwave went back in time after we stopped him from destroying the universe. He pretended to be Onyx Prime and apparently played a big role in shaping Cybertronian history. So I don’t think he _can_ actually die until after he’s done all of that.” 

“This does indeed sound improbable.”

Rodimus sits up and swings his legs over the side of the slab to face Soundwave properly. “So, what do you want to talk about?”

There’s a pause, Soundwave’s expression unreadable as always, before he asks, “How does Ravage die?”

Rodimus grimaces. “Tarn tears him in half.”

“Why would Tarn kill Ravage, a Decepticon of impeccable loyalty?”

“Because Ravage was protecting Megatron — Tarn’s actual target.”

Soundwave’s visor sparks, just for a nanoklik. “Megatron will betray us.”

“Looks to me like he’s betraying you right now,” Rodimus counters. “It’s been a while since I read _Towards Peace_ , but I’m pretty sure I’d remember a chapter on mobilizing the starving remnant of your forces in the pursuit of _personal revenge_.” 

Soundwave says nothing.

“Listen, Soundwave: you’re the most reasonable mech on this entire planetoid, and I know for a fact that you actually care about Megatron. You can’t tell me that you haven’t noticed that he’s gone off the deep end since he started using Ore-13. Calling in a Phase Sixer before you’ve even cleared Phase Two? Scrapping the infiltration protocol completely to launch an invasion? This half-baked plan of his to get back at Optimus because the invasion failed?” Rodimus raises his optic ridges. “That’s the kind of reckless, self-indulgent slag I’d expect from Overlord, not Megatron.”

Soundwave remains silent for a few nanokliks, then says, “I was stationed on Earth for several decades before Phase Two went underway, and resorted to using Ore-13 as fuel. I can confirm that it has an impact on the way that one perceives the world.” There’s a hint of shame in Soundwave’s voice. Or, at least, Rodimus thinks there is. “It is difficult to recognize its effects until after it has been purged from one’s system, however.”

“So you know that I’m right,” says Rodimus, getting to his feet. “I care about Megatron too, and I know that he can be better than this. But he needs to get clean first.” Rodimus doesn’t think it’s _just_ the Ore-13 to blame, of course. Megatron hadn’t been jacked up on the stuff for most of the war, when he’d been slaughtering Neutrals, genociding organics, and smelting Autobots alive. But it’s definitely affecting Megatron’s judgment. 

Going forward, Rodimus needs Megatron to be a cautious, calculating schemer, not an impulsive, maniacal narcissist.

Soundwave leaves without saying anything else.

* * *

Rodimus has a lot of time to think while he’s in his makeshift cell, and it sucks pretty hard.

There’s the usual stuff, of course, which is bad enough by itself. Missing his crew and his friends. Missing Drift, and Magnus, and Megatron — or at least the version of Megatron who spent centuries saving two universes from the Functionists.

But now he also misses _Swindle_ , of all people. To the point that he’s agonizing over how things ended between them. 

It’s honestly incredible, just how thoroughly Rodimus played himself.

He keeps telling himself that Swindle never actually gave a slag about him. That it had all been part of the con. But...nothing about the con had required Swindle to interface with him. Rodimus had never propositioned Dealer or Getaway, but he very much doubts that either would’ve accepted if he had. Let alone initiated anything. 

Maybe Swindle had even changed his plans. Maybe he would’ve actually gone through with things, this time, and Rodimus wouldn’t have needed to steal Magnus’ ship at all. He could’ve let Swindle in on the truth and convinced him to help with the promise of future profit. All of that selfish cunning and technical prowess could’ve been channeled into something _good_ for a change. 

Or maybe Rodimus is just deluding himself because he’s lonely, and he’d let himself get used to having somebody to cuddle up with.

Take emotion out of the equation, and Rodimus can usually see the answers staring him in the face.

* * *

About twenty four cycles later, Rodimus gets another visit. This time by the Slagmaker himself. Rodimus doesn’t bother to move from where he’s lying on the recharge slab with his hands behind his head.

“We sent a scout to Cybertron,” Megatron says, without preamble. “He just reported back that what you said is true. Galvatron is there.” 

“Yeah,” says Rodimus, staring up at the ceiling. “Sucks, doesn’t it?”

Megatron stalks towards him, his footfalls heavy, and suddenly there’s a fusion cannon pointed right at Rodimus' head. “Do you think me a fool?” Megatron growls. 

Rodimus sighs, and finally looks Megatron in the optics. “No. You’re a lot of things, Megatron, but never a fool.”

“Then you should know how obvious it is that you’re strategically withholding information. Do you think you can manipulate me into helping the Autobots secure Cybertron?” 

Rodimus snorts. “If there are even enough of us left to keep a war going after everything that’s coming, I’ll consider it a victory.” He glances into the barrel of the fusion cannon, and doesn’t even feel a little bit of fear. “Yeah, I’m withholding information. But just the stuff that I know you won’t believe yet.” He smirks. “So, which do you want me to tell you about first: the stable causality loop that led to your creation, or the parallel universe that sprung up as result?”

“Do you think you can distract me with absurdities?” Megatron demands. The cannon starts to power up. 

“We both know you’re not going to shoot me.” 

And then Megatron is suddenly lifting him up by his neck and slamming him against the wall. Primus, Megatron is strong, and completely willing to use that strength. Pain radiates from where Rodimus’ spoiler is being mashed into the slab of metal behind it. 

“You’re right,” Megatron says, a cruel smile twisting his features. “I’m not going to shoot you. But I can make you suffer quite exquisitely.”

The feeling of betrayal hurts worse than the physical discomfort, even though Rodimus knows it’s silly. 

“Nothing more to say?” Megatron’s hand tightens around his throat. 

“If you want to get off,” Rodimus says through gritted teeth, “I can think of better ways.”

Well, it’s good to know that the Ore-13 hasn’t made Megatron any less of a prude. He lets go of Rodimus with an all-too-familiar look of disgust on his face.

Rodimus reaches up to massage the cables of his throat, wincing. “Are you at least going to deal with Galvatron? Or are you too obsessed with getting back at Optimus?” He looks up at Megatron. “I can tell you how Optimus dies, if that’ll help. In _both_ universes.”

Megatron takes a step back, glaring down at him. “I will go to Cybertron and win it for the Decepticons.”

Rodimus guesses that he should feel triumphant right about now. Funny how he doesn’t. “You’ll need somebody who can open the Matrix to restore Vector Sigma.” He gives Megatron what he hopes is a cocky grin. “You’re lucky that I’m here.”

**Author's Note:**

> There's a pretty big gap in terms of characterization between the Soundwave of _Spotlight: Soundwave_ and basically every other appearance of the character in the IDWverse. I chalk this up to Ore-13. 
> 
> It's a hell of drug.


End file.
